Friday, October 14, 2011

Perking up ...

So far, my vacation has been off to a soggy start. The rain continued yesterday, so a trail ride was out of the question. I just swapped out my usual 20t cog for a 16t and I wanted a chance to try it out. I'm planning on running the 16 at Cathedral Pines in November, so I really just wanted to see how it felt. It's actually a bigger gear than I would usually ever run on the 29er, but CP is a really flat course, and I want a chance to make 8 laps, so I'll need to push a little harder than the 20 or even an 18 would let me.

Anyway, I decided to ride the Perk trail. It's pretty immune to rain, and it's a perfect place for a test run because it's pretty flat and I'd find out pretty quickly how I'll handle the gear.

So I did the whole ride - from Green Lane to Valley Forge and back - 40 miles in the pissing rain. And the gear felt really good. I wouldn't run it at Valley Green or any of the other typical rides locally (I like to spin more and the climbing would be brutal with that gear.) But it was perfect for a fatter trail. I averaged about the same speed as I did on a gear bike there a while back, and that was big ring the whole way. I need to work it out a bit more to get used to it, but I think it's probably the right call for CP.

One small snag -- on one of the paved sections, my wheels slid out from under me on some wet leaves, and I went down pretty hard -- road rash on my hip and arm, and a nasty cut on my elbow. I hate road rash more than other injuries -- it's such a pain in the ass because bandages stick to it, and it leaks through, and all that garbage.

So that sucks.

But all in all, a decent ride. Hopefully, this rain will break soon so I can get some trail time. Perk is a fun ride, but it's not singletrack. I need my fix!